In this training post, I will go over some Muay Thai Clinch Takedowns. The significance of this technique is to create space and distance between you and your opponent. Sweeping or throwing him to the ground from a clinch will do just that. Once you have created this type of distance you can follow up with whatever move you choose.
If you are in a Muay Thai competition a sweep or takedown scores you points. The referee will immediately ask you to back a bit while your opponent gets back up to his feet. Once he is back up you will continue the bout. There are no submissions or ground and pound in Muay Thai. This sport is strictly stand up only.
If you are in a street fight and clinch your assailant, then manage to perform a take-down wrestling or judo style, you will have to know some ground game to hold him down and submit him, or pound on him until he’s subdued. If you choose to sweep or throw your assailant you can either run for safety or follow up with kicks and punches. The choice is really up to you.
Basic MMA Striking Techniques
Muay Thai Sweeps And Throws
In Muay Thai take-downs are known as Sweeps and Throws. Sweeps and throws is where you trip or throw your opponent onto the ground while you remain standing. In Judo and wrestling a take-down is where you flip, toss, or grapple your opponent to the ground and in most cases you go with him; landing on top. These techniques are a crucial part of mixed martial arts in competition and in a real life fight so pay attention.
When facing an opponent and clinching him you have an opportunity create distance from him by sweeping or throwing him to the ground. In order to successfully land sweeps you must have more than one technique in your arsenal of attacks. You learning how to toss your opponent from different positions will be crucial to catching your opponent off-guard.
Here Are 3 Muay Thai Sweeps to Take Someone Down in the Clinch
4 Amazing Muay Thai Sweeps From The Clinch
The Outside Trip Take-down
The outside trip is a very simple take-down best done from a body lock. Remember the body lock is one of the MMA Clinch Techniques that you can use when fighting someone.
Once you have a body lock with both hands firmly gripped around your opponent’s waist, try to change levels so you’re slightly lower than your opponent and dig your shoulder just under his chest.
Next, push forward and snake your leg around his while sagging your hips to that side. While doing this move, it’s very important to squeeze your opponent’s back as hard as you can to apply the most pressure on him as possible.
Muay Thai Clinch Defense
Muay Thai Dumps
A Muay Thai dump is the same as a sweep or throw. A “dump” as it is referred to, is a trip or toss used to get your opponent down to the ground. Most fighters say the easiest dumps are executed from the clinch or from a body lock. While others say a good sweep or dump is easiest after catching a leg kick.
Whatever way you choose to execute it a muay thai dump can put your opponent flat on his ass. In a muay thai competition the referee will intervene and give you a point, but in the streets you can follow up with whatever move you want to further defend yourself.
Below are some of the best muay thai sweeps and dumps highlights:
Muay Thai Clinch Drills
One of the many questions we get from muay thai practitioners is how do they become better or great at muay thai. Our answer is always the same you have to practice all the time. All the time means often. This specifically mean 4 times a week or more at a gym. And on your off days from the gym you have to practice at home shadowing the moves by yourself or with a family member or friend. Be careful not to hurt them always use protective pads and head gear!!!
Shadow boxing out the drills in your bedroom in front of the mirror is really helpful. This is because you are playing the maneuvers out in your mind and in a fight you will be drawing on those memories to effectively do the moves. You always want to practice out the moves or shadow box them out by yourself to keep them fresh in your mind; it will help you out in a real life situation or in competition.
Practice makes close to perfect so below is a video on how to do proper muay thai clinch drills you can watch and practice with.
Muay Thai Clinching Drills Knee and Strikes
Knee Tap Takedown
Before I get into explaining the knee tap take-down I want to premise it by saying that this is more of a wrestling move. Muay Thai experts don’t use this move but i think it’s a badass move to add to your take-down arsenal.
Also, what we try to do here at MMA Active is arm you with all the weapons you can use in competition as well as in the streets. So take heed and practice this move just in case you need to use it.
The knee tap is done from the over-under clinch position. This technique has many steps that must all occur at the same time so pay close attention in order to know how to do it effectively.
Assuming you have an under hook on the right side and an over hook on the left, begin by circling to your right side to force your opponent to step forward with his right leg. Once he’s brought his right leg forward, step in with your right leg 45 degrees across in front of his body. This step is crucial, if done incorrectly, it will ruin the rest of the move.
While stepping in front of your opponent, shot put your right arm in the same direction parallel to your 45-degree step. Your left hand should reach down and lightly grab his right knee.
Muay Thai Clinch Techniques
Muay Thai Clinch Meets MMA Takedowns
This is actually a side note comment for those who follow this site and email questions. We appreciate the love and support from all of you and our mission is to continue to provide you with good mma training content.
We have been getting emails and questions about Grapple Hearts ebook May Thai Meets MMA Takedowns PDF. People want to know what we think of it and do we recommend it at all. on our site we do give reviews on mixed martial arts books/ebooks so I would like to take the time to address it briefly.
I as well as others who have read the ebook think that is a great guide for those who are getting into mma and want to learn the different take-downs from muay thai and mma. This specific post broke down the difference in the two as well. In muay thai a take-down is considered a sweep, trip, or dump. When you initiate these moves you trip your opponent to the ground while you’re still standing.
In mma a take-down can be a trip or a sweep, but also a tackle, toss, flip, or trip. It is not legal in muay thai to tackle or grapple your opponent to the ground. Muay thai doesn’t allow that because it is strictly a stand up sport you can not mount your opponent for a submission or ground and pound him you will lose the match up!
In mma all the aforementioned is a go you can do all of that without consequence. So the Muay Thai Clinch Meets MMA Takedown goes over how to do a basic muay thai clinches and how to execute one basic wrestling takedown. The basic wrestling takedown that is mentioned in the ebook is the High Double Leg with two entry points. The book doesn’t mention anything else. Keep in mind that it’s ONLY 5 pages!
So if you want a real quick basic introduction to 3 different clinches and one wrestling take-down then you can download that ebook. But my advice would be to learn beyond that because it simply isn’t enough information for you to learn from.